Belinda Still Dreaming Away

This is Belinda's Dream, a medium pink, shrub rose that is purported to be nearly disease free.  It is on the Earthkind list of roses, which means it is a top performer in our climate without needing all the spraying and watering that normally are required for roses.  The blooms are shaped like normal hybrid tea roses and have a wonderful fragrance.  The stems aren't especially long, but are adequate for cutting.  Notice just how huge the bloom is even in the deepest part of summer here. 

Here is another shot that shows the beautiful leaves and stems as well as the perfect blooms.  I can't think of another rose in my experience that is less prone to blackspot than this one.  The leaves stay clean all year.  Also, this is a nearly continuously blooming shrub.  It puts out flush after flush of bloom from April till December where I live.  One way I help it bloom better is to prune each stem way back after the blooms fade.  This helps the plant also maintain a full, bushy appearance instead of a tall, leggy look.

I prune this plant just like a hybrid tea.  Cut it back to about 18" in February, keep the stems cut back after each flush of bloom, and give it a secondary pruning to about 30" in late summer (August) before the fall flush.  In this shot you can see the full shape of the plant and the perfect, deep green of the leaves.  There is no yellowing anywhere.  You cannot ask for more from a rose in Louisiana.  (Note that I don't spray at all.) 

Once again, this is a rose that is not commonly seen at my local nurseries.  Why!?  I had to order mine from Chamblee's Rose Nursery.  It sickens me to visit nurseries and see tons of hybrid tea, grandiflora, and floribunda roses that are guaranteed to fail unless constantly pampered.  The only exception is the ubiquitous Knockout family, which is the only group of roses that common people can easily find and grow.